


The Hunter

by Indulgenceahoy



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baby Blasters, Drama, Fluff, Gen, One Shot, Young Papyrus, Young Sans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:07:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5800132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indulgenceahoy/pseuds/Indulgenceahoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans and Papyrus have escaped from Gaster's lab.  They are on their own, experiencing the world for the first time.  What if Gaster hired other monsters to search for his missing test subjects.  What if one of them found them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hunter

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5378657) by [KeetahSpacecat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeetahSpacecat/pseuds/KeetahSpacecat). 



> Decided to write a little something for @spacegate ‘s wonderful @babyblasters AU. It takes place before Sans and Papyrus meet Grillby. I figured that early on after their escape from Gaster’s lab, Gaster might’ve tried to hire other monsters to capture them.

The storm raged outside the cabin.  Papyrus whined in his sleep at the noise but didn’t wake up.  The lapin hunter looked over the bound monster and checked that all the restrains were still in place on the young monster.  Even though it felt unnecessary to use such extreme measures with such a young looking, if wild animal, he had heard that these “blaster” monsters were extremely dangerous and unpredictable. He wanted no surprises.

He wished he had captured the bigger one as well, but he had lost track of it in the deeper part of the woods.  The bounty was higher for that one and it would be a damn shame to have another hunter beat him to that prize.  

He planned on using the small one as bait once the storm let off.   The bounty wasn’t too clear on the details but it seemed that these wild monsters were related.  He hoped that the bond was strong enough to make the other one come back looking for its kin.

The hunter blew out a long trail of smoke from his cigarette as he kept watch over the fire barely keeping the abandoned cabin above freezing.   He didn’t want to think about it too much, but this whole situation was bothering him.  He hunted several wild monster animals in his lifetime.   These usually kept to the darkest, deepest parts of the underground forest and were rarely seen by civilized monsters.  When they did come into a settlement, monsters like him were called upon to take them down before they hurt anyone.  It wasn’t a steady job but it paid very well.  

What was bothering him is that these wild things he hunted usually didn’t wear clothes.  

The hunter walked over and hunched over Papyrus sleeping form.  The contractor had insisted that he use a special dart gun on his targets instead of his usual weapon of choice, a crossbow.  Also, that he immediately put what looked like customized muzzles and shackles on the monsters upon capture.   He was warned that they were sneaky monsters and could possibly shape shift into looking like monster kids to trick him.    

At the time he hadn’t care. A job was a job.  And the pay for this one was many time his usual fee, especially if he brought both of them in.  But now…

Now he was bothered by the whole situation.  

The older monster had been obviously very upset when he saw his younger kin fall victim to the darts. He had tried to come back and retrieve it but had been struck as well.   He managed to fight off the effects of the narcotic and bolt into the forest before the hunter could reach him.  The hunter could’ve sworn that he heard him speak in half a growl/whimper before he disappeared in the shadows.

“I’m sorry”

Another whimper brought the hunter out of his reverie.  The young one was waking up.  The lapin stared as Papyrus woke up.  At first, he was groggy and barely aware of where he was but the moment he tried to get up on all fours and was stopped by the shackles, realization dawned on him and started to panic.  He struggled against his bonds, twitching his entire body with force.  

The hunter brought down his hand on Papyrus neck to keep him from hurting himself.

“Down boy!  You’re not getting out of those!”

Papyrus stopped immediately and stared at him breathing heavily.  He was terrified.  He emitted a series of sounds that were muffled by the muzzle.   Was he trying to speak?

The hunter bit his lip. He didn’t like this situation AT ALL. But he really needed the money.  This whole pup’s act was a trick, right?

“Down!” he repeated more forcefully increasing his pressure on Papyrus’ neck, enough to indicate that he meant business but not to hurt him.

Papyrus laid down his head flat against the floor but kept his gaze on him.  Tears?  The hunter shook his head.

“Stay there” said the hunter and walked over to the fire to tend to it.    He sat with his back to Papyrus to gather his thoughts.  He had never seen a wild animal cry before.

About half an hour went by. The storm sounded like it was getting worse.  Finally, the hunter glanced over his shoulder to check on his capture again.  Papyrus had curled up for warmth.  His eyes were closed but he was still sniffling and small tears were slowly trailing down his cheeks.

The hunter noticed that the pup was shivering.  That wouldn’t do.  After all, the contract specified that the bounties needed to be alive at the time of delivery for maximum pay out.  He threw out his spent cigarette into the fire and lit another one, then got up and put his hand on Papyrus’ neck again, making him open his eyes to look at him afraid.

“I’m going to move you closer to the fire.  Don’t try anything funny or I’ll stick you with another dart” He couldn’t believe he was talking to a wild animal like he would understand, but much to his surprise, Papyrus nodded.  

Godammit.

He picked up Papyrus with one arm and carried him over to the fire.  Like the first time he had picked him up to take him back to the cabin, he wondered how such a small, light thing could be THAT dangerous.   Then again, in his line of business, you learned quickly to never go by appearances.

He placed Papyrus on the other side of the fire from him. They regarded each other for a while. Papyrus eyes darted around the room. He was obviously still afraid but a little calmer than before.  He curled up again defeated.  The hunter reached inside his backpack and pulled out a flask of whisky.   Papyrus lifted his head expectantly.  The hunter took a couple of swigs out of the flask and used the back of his hand to clean out his mouth.  Papyrus followed every movement with his eyes.

“You want some?” said the hunter amused.  Papyrus waged his tail a little bit.  “Nah, you don’t want this.  It’s not good for you”

Papyrus looked crestfallen and whined a little bit.  

“Are you thirsty?”

Papyrus’ tail wagged again.

“Hm”   The hunter put down his cigarette and brought out a canteen.  He put it in front of Papyrus.  “Again, don’t try anything funny, ok?”  

He undid the muzzle around Papyrus’ head.  “Ah, I guess you’re going to need a bowl” He turned around to get his eating bowl out of his backpack.  When he turned back he almost dropped the bowl on his foot.  In front of him now sat a child skeleton reaching over for the canteen.

“s’ok” said Papyrus avoiding his gaze “I can drink like this”

It took him a couple of tries due to the shackles on his small wrists but he managed to open the canteen and take an eager drink from it. Unfortunately, he also got the front of his sweater all wet.  

The hunter stood the dumbfounded.  Sure, he had been told that they could take on the form of children as a trick, but he had never expected it to look … so real.  He had seen illusions from wild animals before, but if you kept your wits about you, you could always tell that they were just that, illusions. This, this kid was no illusion.

“m’ sorry” said Papyrus as he desperately tried to use his hands to wipe off the water off his sweater. He was still avoiding looking at the hunter directly.  

The hunter took in a sharp breath.  He ran his left hand all over his mouth and nose as several thoughts clashed inside his head.  He turned and walked away was a far as he could from the child.  This was all messed up.  Did he really just shot and … _kidnapped_ … a toddler? He couldn’t be older than maybe 4. He looked at the kid again and caught him looking at him.  Immediately Papyrus looked away and pulled up his knees up to his chest.  He was trembling.  

The hunter clicked his tongue and retrieved his blanket.  

“Here” he said dropping it in front of Papyrus “Use one corner to dry your chest and then cover yourself with the rest of it”

Papyrus followed his instructions the best he could but his hands being tied up and also because he was nervous, he kept having trouble handling the big blanket.  After a bit, the hunter shook his head and grabbed the blanket himself causing Papyrus to yelp in surprise.  

“It’s ok.  I’m just going to help you wipe off the water. Just stay still ok?”  

Papyrus stood perfectly still.  He had to give it to the kid.  He knew how to follow instruction.    The hunter patted as much as the water as he could then wrapped Papyrus up with the dry part of the blanket.

“Warm?” asked the hunter.

“Yes” said Papyrus sinking into the blanket.  A faint orange glow on his cheeks.

The hunter bit his lip in consideration.  He really needed another shot of whiskey so he went over to pick up his flask again. By the time he had finished it off his thoughts were none the clearer.  

“What are you?” he finally asked.

Papyrus blinked at him confused.  “Um … uh … I’m Papyrus”

“That’s your name?”

“Uh uh”

“Ok, Papyrus, what are you?”

Papyrus  gave him an even more confused expression.  “Um… I’m a kid”

“A skeleton kid”

“yeah?”

“That can turn into whatever it was that you were before” the hunter motioned to the space where Papyrus had been lying on earlier.

Papyrus looked away again “My blaster form”

“Your blaster form” repeated the hunter.  He wished he had more alcohol on hand.

A few moments of silence drifted by.  Outside, the storm was coming to an end.

“Where’s Sans?”

The hunter looked up. The question had been so quiet that for a second he doubted he had actually heard it.

“Sorry?”

“Where’s Sans?” asked Papyrus again tearing up “He’s my brother”

“Sans?” then the hunter put two and two together “You mean the monster that was with you?  He’s your brother?”

“Yes”

“I don’t know.  He ran away” He took a drag of his newly lit cigarette “Left you behind.  I guess he’s not that much of a brother huh?”

“NO!” shouted Papyrus suddenly, raising the hunter’s eyebrows all the way up.  “HE’S A GREAT BROTHER.  TAKE IT BACK!”

“Oh hey, ok, fine” said the hunter lifting his hands in mock surrender “All I know is that he ran away after I caught you”

Papyrus opened his mouth to say something but closed it and pulled the blankets closer to him.  “He’s not afraid of you” he mumbled into the blanket.

“Sure”

“He’s not” said Papyrus. Tears started to come out of his eye sockets with renewed force.  He tried his best to muffle them with the blanket but his whimpers were pretty loud.

“oh god” growled the hunter. He couldn’t do it.  No, this wasn’t right.   He kicked at the fire in frustration then got up with another growl.  He walked over to Papyrus and pulled the blanket off of him.  The tiny skeleton scooted back in fright.  The hunter grabbed his hands and unlocked the shackles then he proceeded to do the same for his feet.

“You are costing me A LOT of money, you know” he said.

Papyrus wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves.  “You’re … you’re letting me go?”

“Aaauggghhh …. Yes” said the hunter really, really not trying to think about the money and how he was going to explain this to his fellow hunters, who may not have as much of a pesky conscience as he did.

Papyrus regarded him for a moment then suddenly hugged him.  “THANK YOU!”

 _“Oh my god.  This kid is going to get himself killed someday by being so trusting”_ Thought the hunter and pushed Papyrus away.  “NOT A GOOD IDEA KID”

“Oh” said Papyrus. Then he smiled.  

“Ahem … well … I guess we better find that bro…”

The door being blown open killed his sentence.  Actually it had been the door and half the wall besides it, but mostly the door. Debris flew everywhere.  The hunter and Papyrus hit the floor and covered their heads.

“SANS!”  The hunter heard the kid shout happily after a few seconds.  He opened one eye and saw Papyrus ran over to a larger wild monster skeleton, a very pissed looking wild monster.  His left eye was glowing blue and he could see energy gathering inside his jaws.  The hunter vaguely wondered how much older the other kid was.  It couldn’t be much … maybe 2 or 3 years older. 

“SANS, NO! WAIT!” He heard just before another blast barely missed his head.  He had been saved by Papyrus pushing his brother’s head at the very last second.

Papyrus hanged on to his brother’s head to keep him from aiming another shot at the hunter.  “It’s ok Sans! He’s a good guy!  He was about to let me go!”

Sans shot a warning glare at the hunter then growled a question at Papyrus.  

“I’m ok!” answered the kid.

While they were talking, the hunter looked at all the destruction around him.  The roof now had a huge hole blown through it and the cabin was missing most of a wall.  The monster had aimed at his head.  He had every intention of killing him.  These kids _were_ dangerous.  His hands trembled.  

“No, no, please” He heard Papyrus say.  He had put himself between his brother and the hunter.  He transformed into his “blaster” form.   The brothers exchanged several growls in what sounded like an argument. The entire time, the one called Sans kept his eyes on the hunter, so he didn’t risk moving.  

Eventually Papyrus won, or at least that’s what it sounded like.  Sans gave an aggravated huff and swung his head towards the forest.  Papyrus wagged his tail and before his brother could object, he bounded over to the hunter and gave him a quick lick on the cheek. Then he quickly ran out of the cabin.

Sans transformed into his kid form much to the hunter’s surprise.  He was really just a short kid, but the hunter had never seen anything more frightening in his life.  His left eye still flared with blue magic.  His whole body was tense with anger.  

“Leave us alone” he growled in a low, husky voice.

“Yeah, ok.  Sure” said the hunter.  

Sans reverted to his feral form and bounded after Papyrus, who was waiting for him impatiently at the edge of the forest.  They both quickly disappeared from sight.

The hunter let out a breath that he hadn’t been aware he had been holding.   Maybe he would keep this story to himself.  

******

[I’m sorry] said Sans in the growly language the used when they were in their feral forms.  [I’m really sorry]

Papyrus head bumped his left side.  His brother had been apologizing to him their entire way back to their forest hideout.

[s’ok] he said again.

[I fell asleep.  I couldn’t help it]

[I fell asleep too.  Those things that monster had made us sleepy]

[You sure you’re ok?]

[Sigh. Yes!]

[Ok]

Sans curled up around Papyrus [We’re going to have to find another place to hide]

[Why?]

[It’s not safe here] Sans’ stomach growled [and I can’t find food anymore]

Papyrus nuzzled his brother’s cheek.  [Ok. Maybe we can go to that town over the hill? I bet they have food]

[No!  It’s full of people]

[They might be nice]

[Papyrus, one of them caught you!]

[But he ended up being nice!]

[Paps …]

[I’ll be extra careful. I promise]

Sans huffed and closed his eyes.  Papyrus nuzzled him again.  He opened one eye to look at his younger brother.  [Extra, extra, extra careful] He warned.

Papyrus nodded and wagged his tail happily.  

[Sigh.  We’ll take a look]

Early the next day they were on their way to Snowdin.


End file.
